1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A generally conventional image pickup apparatus includes a blade arranged between an optical unit having a lens and an image pickup unit having an image pickup device. In order to move the blade, the image pickup apparatus includes a blade drive unit including a substrate supporting the blade and a drive source such as step motor. Lately, a camera for a mobile telephone is equipped with an AF (autofocus) mechanism, a zoom mechanism, a shutter mechanism, and an image stabilizer mechanism, in addition to a camera equipped with a fixed-focus mechanism. This needs the electric connection between a base material and a drive unit which includes a drive source, such as a step motor driving each mechanism serving as a controlled portion.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, an image pickup apparatus 100 disclosed in Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-58644) includes: a image pickup substrate 111 on which an image pickup device 112 is mounted on an object side; an optical unit 120 having lenses 122, 123, and 124 for imaging an object light on the image pickup device 112; blades 133, 134 and 135 adjusting the amount of the object light entering into the lenses 122, 123, and 124; a blade drive unit 130 having a step motor 136 serving as a drive source for the blades 133, 134, and 135; and a print substrate 140 supplying the step motor 136 with a drive power from the image pickup substrate 111.
In the image pickup apparatus 100 disclosed in Document 1, this print substrate 140 is electrically connected with the image pickup substrate 111 by a solder 141, and the print substrate 140 is fixed to be substantially perpendicular to the image pickup substrate 111. Thus, the blade drive unit 130 is electrically connected with the image pickup substrate 111 and is securely supported by the image pickup substrate 111 via the print substrate 140 made of a hard material. As described above, the blade drive unit 130 is stably supported by the image pickup substrate 111, so that the image pickup apparatus 100 has a good impact resistance and a structure in which a load caused inside thereof can be reduced.
However, in the image pickup apparatus 100 disclosed in Document 1, the print substrate 140 made of a hard material and having rigidity is needed, and the print substrate 140 has to be securely jointed with the blade drive unit 130. Additionally, an end portion of the print substrate 140 and the image pickup substrate 111 are soldered to be faced with each other, and the solder 141 is concentrically loaded from the end portion of the print substrate 140 in the optical axis direction, when the impact is applied. Thus, the connection between the solder 141 and the print substrate 140 may be cut by a shear stress caused between the print substrate 140 and the solder 141 in the optical axis direction. Further, since the solder 141 which electrically connects the print substrate 140 is disposed on an end portion of the image pickup substrate 111, the image pickup substrate 111 is larger in the longitudinal direction thereof. Thus, the image pickup substrate 111 cannot be downsized, as a result, there is the problem in which the image pickup apparatus 100 cannot be further downsized.